The Appellate Medical Board's assessment should be given sanctity, and challenges to the constitution of the Special Medical Board should be raised in the writ petition. The State has a duty to make effective provisions for securing the rights of the disabled within the limits of economic capacity and development.

JUDGMENT :

S.K. Panigrahi, J.

1. Since similar questions of law and fact are involved in all the above Writ Petitions, all the matters were heard together. However, this Court felt it appropriate to decide W.P.(C) No.10531 of 2022 first and whatever the outcome of the said Writ Petition, the same will be covered to other similar Writ Petitions mentioned above.

2. The petitioner challenges the validity of the action of the Opp. Parties to reduce the permanent disability of 70% issued by the Medical Authority, Kalahandi to temporary disability of 30% by the State Appellate Medical Board on 15.12.2021, communicated vide letter No.17570/ CDMO & PHO, Cuttack dated 15.12.2021 and seeks a direction from this Court to the Opposite Parties for constitution of another Appellate Medical Board for confirmation of the disability of the petitioner. He further seeks a direction to the Opposite Parties to give contractual appointment to the petitioner as TGT Arts under PWD category.

Facts of the case

3. The petitioner had applied for engagement for the post of contractual T.G. Teacher, Arts being a PWD candidate having the disability certificate of 70% permanent issued by the Medical Authority, Kalahandi. The Director Secondary Education, Odisha had issued advertisement dtd.28.08.2021 for the recruitment to the post of trained Graduate teachers, Telugu Teacher in Government Secondary School in the State of Odisha. Pursuant to said advertisement, the petitioner being an eligible candidate having requisite qualification had applied for the said post under SCBC, PWD category as she possessed B.Sc with B.Ed qualification and was also qualified under OSSTET which is not disputed by the opposite Parties. The petitioner had appeared for the computer-based test (CBT) on 25.10.2021 and qualified in the said test. Thereafter, the petitioner was placed in the provisional select list published vide notice dated 03.12.2021. The Opposite Party, No.2 vide Letter dated 09.12.2021, allocated the candidates who have been provisionally selected to the concerned districts. The petitioner was posted in Sambalpur district. After verification of documents by District Education Office, Sambalpur and as per direction by the Directorate of Secondary Education, Odisha, the petitioner was allotted to NR NODAL High School, Rengali vide letter dated 09.12.2021.

4. Thereafter, the Director of Secondary Education, Odisha vide letter dated 13.12.2021 published a notice directing the PWD candidates selected for the post of TGT contractual to appear before the State Medical Appellate Board on 15.12.2021 as per the venue mentioned to verify the genuineness of their disability. Accordingly, the petitioner appeared before the State Appellate Medical Board, where the Medical Board after examining the permanent disability of the petitioner, came to a finding that the Disability is Temporary at 30%. Therefore, the petitioner filed a Writ Petition before this Court in W.P. (C) No.40559 of 2021 challenging such finding of the Appellate Medical Board dated 15.12.2021 with a prayer for a direction to the Opposite Parties to give engagement to the petitioner as teacher Contractual T.G. being a selected candidate under PWD category as per the Disability certificate and thereby quash the letter dated 15.12.2021 and sought for reviewing/ re-examining the disability evaluation.

5. This Court while considering the grievance of a similarly placed person to the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.11022 of 2018, vide order dated 13.07.2018, disposed of the petition with a direction for holding of reassessment of disability to address the confusion, considering the striking difference in the medical assessment conducted by ENT Department, S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack and AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. Pursuant to this order, Director of Secondary Education, Odisha, Bhubaneswar rejected the prayer of the petitioner vide order No.6479 dated 09.03.2022.

Submission of the Petitioner

6. Learned Counsel for the Petit